[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Yeah I think they are all of them." Rumia hypothesized, curling her hair with her finger. "I mean, once you find 20 land mines, you would guess that that is all of them, right?"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

"True. Hopefully, there's no more left.", Takoizu said to Rumia as she sat down in one of the new chairs and relaxed.

It had been a long time since Takoizu had taken the time to unwind, especially in her timeline. In her timeline, anarchy ruled half of the world, and only a few governments could keep their populace under control. Even then, Takoizu always had to worry about people poking around her house, trying to loot the burned out remains of Gensokyo. Not only that, she had to worry about going into the nearby cities, where criminal organizations had a tight grip over much of the governing bodies. It was a relief to be in a calmer, more peaceful time. It seemed almost as if Takoizu was going to fall asleep, but she was simply enjoying the calm atmosphere, the air that was free of ash and dust, and the warm temperature of the room. After a minute or two, Takoizu looked back to Rumia and Ran, and spoke.

"So, what has happened so far? How are you doing? Is everything well?", Takoizu asked both of them, still relaxing in the chair.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Well, we had a huge-ass war about a few months ago..." Rumia reminisced. "We won, Yukari died in the process, Flandre and Seija brought them back to life, they married, we clean Gensokyo up, happily ever after."

"So you're from the future huh?" Rumia asked Takoizu as she sat down on the other chair. Ran went into the unscathed kitchen to make the late lunch. "How is it like then? Am I still as alluring as ever?"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

Takoizu knew that she would eventually have to tell everyone the news about the future, but it still didn't stop her from feeling sad about it. All of her friends and loved ones died, and she was left alone. Takoizu looked over to Rumia and had a look of hidden sorrow in her eyes. It was obvious that Takoizu's next words would not be pleasant.

"Everyone is dead.", Takoizu answered Rumia.

"In my timeline, almost everyone, excluding those that drank the Hourai Elixir, died when an Arcanopulsate Anti-magic bomb from the ACO detonated over Gensokyo. Those that didn't die were either murdered, or taken to a lab for research and put through inhumane experiments. The bomb not only killed everyone, it also eliminated most Characters on the planet. What the ACO didn't know was that their bomb seeped into the ground in the form of fallout and poisoned the planet. Where I'm from, the entire planet is dying and Humanity is being driven to extinction. There is virtually no order, and it's every man for themselves. It's..... not a very bright future. I'm pretty much the only one left from the entire conflict.", Takoizu calmly explained to Rumia.

"Last I remember, you were very beautiful, and you used to always tease my father, much to his dismay. Of course, it was just teasing for the sake of teasing, so my parents didn't seem too upset about it. It was a happy future, until everything went the way it did.", Takoizu softly said as she closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair.

[wonderweiss]

Outside Yakumo Estate
____________________________

Jack heard everything with his highly trained ears.

"Yes. That is a tragic future. That is how I lost my mother. That is what led my father to the ultimate depression. But it happened, and there's nothing you can do about it. So just go back... Go back..."

They had to come out eventually. He would wait.



Tengu Village
_________________

"Authority isn't as cut up as they put it, huh? Well... Can you tell me where the kappa village is? If you do... I might have something you'd be interested in."

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"...huh." Rumia pouted and sank to her seat in deep thought. "I would never think that everyone would die... who is this ACO? Why would they send out an anti-magic missile towards us?"

---

Tengu Village - Gensokyo

---

"Sure." Aya said, rising up after finishing her tea. "I'll accompany you there. You wouldn't be in any sort of trouble then."

[wonderweiss]

Tengu Village
____________________

"Really? That'd be great, but what about your job? Wouldn't they chew you out for leaving them?"

[WriggleRid3r]

Tengu Village - Gensokyo

---

"I'll be fine. Momiji'll kill me later, but that can't stop me from having my little outing." Aya smirked, donning her fan. "Let's go."

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

"The ACO is an organization made up of two divisions; WRAITH and PALADIN. WRAITH tried to 'humanize' Characters by stripping away their powers, while PALADIN took a more extreme approach. WRAITH resorts to covert operations, while PALADIN viewed us as a plague and decided to wipe us out. From what I've gathered from their files, PALADIN somehow confiscated tech from 'The Devourer', after the war and built something similar to some kind of mining apparatus called 'The Extractor'. It runs off of an Arcanopulsate reactor, just like the one you guys destroyed a couple months ago. That can only mean that they came in while everyone was still rebuilding and stole some of the aliens' tech. As for why, they considered us the greatest threat, so they sought to kill us in one swoop. At first, they tried to kill us with manpower, guns, and magic, but they couldn't kill us. We were too powerful for them, and after a time, they resorted to a fusion bomb. My dad stopped them from launching the nuke, but...", Takoizu said as she showed Rumia the badly burned M6D Magnum Pistol.

"After losing their fusion bomb, they resorted to their final weapon, the Anti-magic bomb. It's priimary function was to eliminate the energy that sustains Youkai, but they also added a secondary function that was supposed to target only Character energy signatures, but they underestimated what they were playing with and essentially restarted the Devourer Incident, only that there was no way to fix this one.

That's why I'm here. I'm here to make sure that everyone stays alive and to ensure that the ACO dies again.", Takoizu explained to Rumia.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Devourer all over again?" Rumia groaned. "That's going to be painful."

"I made some pork Gyoza with soy sauce dipping." Ran announced, bringing in a plate of dumpling with a small dish filled with black liquid and small droplets of green paste, most likely wasabi.

"Yes, my favorite. Thank you Ran." Rumia giggled and took a bite of the dumpling.

It was delicious.

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

"Thank you Ran.", Takoizu thanked Ran as she grabbed a dumpling, dipped it into the wasabi, and ate it.

The taste of the dumpling was amazing, especially since Takoiazu had only eaten canned food, ever since the bomb dropped. A look of pure ecstasy spread over Takoizu's face as she savored her first good meal in a long time. After eating a second one and repeating the process of savoring it, Takoizu addressed Rumia's comment.

"Well that's why I'm here, I'm here to prevent another Devourer Incident.", Takoizu said to Rumia, afterward, taking another dumpling and thoroughly enjoying it.

"Oh, that reminds me, I need to teach you guys how to kill a 'Devourer.' Fortunately, they aren't like the real one. They don't come back to life after being killed. They also don't seem to have access to some of the old one's abilities.", Takoizu added, as if it was a trivial matter.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Kill a Devo-" Rumia looked at Takoizu with pure confusion. "What are you talking about? Are they... cloning him?"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

"Sort of. They clone The Devourer by creating a video game equivalent of him out of code, then replicate the Horizon Incident. They also somehow stole video recordings from my father's armor, and gave these 'Devourers' all of the old one's physical abilities. Luckily, they couldn't replicate his cellular inhibitor abilities and his immortality. They're still virtually indestructible, can move incredibly fast, and are strong enough to impale a person simply by flicking their fingers, but I found a weapon that cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. It's called 'The Subtle Knife. It is so sharp that it can cut through the universe itself. It's like boundary manipulation, only in the form of a knife, and much harder to resist. It's from a book I read as a child, back when I would visit Patchouli in her library.", Takoizu explained to Rumia.

Despite the fact that she was talking about fighting clones of this god-monster, she seemed awfully calm, casually eating a dumpling after explaining the process to Rumia.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Wait... what..." Rumia covered her head in confusion. "Too much information, give me some time to understand it thoroughly."

"Well, what can we do to alter the future?" Ran asked.

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Day

"Ok. Take your time.", Takoizu said to Rumia.

After speaking to Rumia, Takoizu turned her attention over to Ran and answered her question.

"Well, first off, you should be more cautious of strangers and report anything out of the ordinary to me. I'll investigate and make sure everything is safe. As for everyone dying, everyone will need to be more careful, especially when I say that a person is supposed to die at a particular point in time. In some circumstances I will directly intervene, but I will usually leave you guys to fight your own battles unless I think you guys can't handle it. Of course, you won't have to worry about dying. You.. died.. a long time after the bomb dropped... If Yukari remains alive you should be safe. Even then, make sure to remain alert.", Takoizu said to Ran.

It was evident that Takoizu was upset from thinking about Ran's death, but she still mentioned it. It was necessary if Takoizu wanted to alleviate any of Ran's concerns about dying. There was still the possibility that Ran would ask about her death, but Takoizu would be willing to tell her. After all, it wouldn't come to pass if everything went as planned.